2009 Student Winners
Categories:
- First Prize and winner of Intel ISEF Prize
- Second Prize and winner of Intel ISEF Prize
- Third Prize
- GRDC Prize for Sustainable Agriculture
First prize
Winner of Intel ISEF prize
Rosie Watters
Year 12 (2008) Trinity Anglican School, QLD
Project submitted by CREST
Project Title: Crash Force: Investigating Different Foams in Bicycle Helmets
Rosie’s aim was to investigate the properties of expanded polystyrene foam in terms of reducing the peak transmitted force through the foam in a collision. She was looking for ways of reducing brain injuries in cycle accidents. Rosie tested different densities and thicknesses of foams, the effect of changing momentum on impact and the effect of shape on the impacting object. The forces were investigated using a suspended bowling ball which could be dropped on to a force sensor under different samples. 25 mm thick, low-density polystyrene was the most effective sample. When the ball was dropped on to the same sample a second time the foam’s ability to reduce peak force was reduced by 30%. Rosie’s conclusion was that a helmet will protect your head but after an impact the helmet should be replaced.
Second prize
Winner of Intel ISEF prize
Campbell Chambers
Year 10 (2008) Shore School, NSW
Project submitted by the Science Teachers Association of New South Wales
Project Title: The Effectiveness of Thermal Insulation
Subtitled “A study of electricity usage from air-conditioners and the impact
on greenhouse gas emissions.”
Campbell’s aim was to identify the most effective thermal insulator used in the construction of residential dwellings. He tested four insulating materials and found that polystyrene foam would insulate a chamber most effectively and 5.8 times better then no insulation at all. An extrapolation concluded that installing this insulation in a previously non-insulated dwelling (the case for 55% of dwellings in NSW) would result in an annual energy saving of 1 517 kilowatt hours, translating to a reduction of 2 million tonnes of CO2 saved from coal fired electricity generators if applied Australia-wide.
Third prize
.jpg)
Cat Gaggin
Year 10 (2008) Marist Regional College TAS
Project submitted by the Science Teachers Association of Tasmania
Project Title: Bio-Sludge: To reuse or not to use
Cat’s aim was to see if bio-sludge can be used as an effective fertiliser (compared to non-fertilised plants and compared to super phosphate). Silver beet plants were raised in soils fertilised with different weights of bio-sludge, a measured amount of super phosphate or in soil with no fertiliser. The cost per tonne of bio-sludge is $35 compared with $550 for superphosphate. The difference between the dry mass of the plants grown with bio-sludge was greater than un-fertilised plants. Plants grown with bio-sludge had a heavier dry mass than plants fertilised with super phosphate. The optimum mass of bio-sludge was 226 kg/hectare. The conclusion was that bio-sludge can be used as an effective plant fertiliser but that further research should be undertaken on bacteria levels before it is adopted for wider use.
GRDC Prize for Sustainable Agriculture
Luke Fletcher and Hannah Younger
Year 10 (2008) Marist Regional College, TAS
Project submitted by the Science Teachers Association of Tasmania
Project Title: Bloomin’ Algae
Luke and Hannah’s aim was to investigate the effect of fertilisers on eutrophication of waterways. Chlorella protothecoides, a single celled alga, was grown in water containing a range of concentrations of different types of fertiliser and the dry mass measured to calculate the growth rate. The investigation was trying to determine which fertiliser most accelerates algal growth and to show that increasing nitrogen concentrations can increase oxygen levels in daylight and reduce oxygen concentrations at night. While the hypotheses were unsupported by the results, many questions were raised about the effects of fertilisers on algal growth that warrant further investigation.